Hall Green high jumper Tom Parsons has welcomed the switch in nationality of Ger-maine Mason and hopes the Jamaican's arrival will propel him to new heights.

The Birchfield Harrier says he has no complaints with Mason's conversion and claims the 23-year-old could even be a boost to the sport in this country.

Coincidentally, as well as having his status as a challenger for the top spot in Britain threatened, Parsons is no longer No 1 at his club with Mason also joining the Stags and training at the High Performance Centre at the Alexander Stadium.

But he maintains there are no hard feelings between the two, who met for the first time last week, and says he wants to use Mason's season's-best clearance of 2.28 metres as a target.

"Hopefully, it will get people thinking they are going to have to work a lot harder and produce better results if they are going to compete with him. It's good to have someone to aim at," Parsons said.

"He deserves the Britain vest at the moment. If he is good enough and there is no argument in his eligibility, there is nothing you can do about it.

"Initially, I thought 'Oh God, another one that needs to be caught' but, thinking about it, it could be what the sport needs to get it going again. If you are content with jumping 2.24m or 2.25m and being British No 1, that is no good, you need to be focusing on going higher and winning medals."

The pair go head-to-head for the first time this weekend at the AAA and European Trials in Manchester and, although Mason's best of 2.24m is 11 centimetres higher, Parsons cleared 2.22m in Birmingham last month and 2.21m at the recent Cork Games. With 2.25m enough to put him up for selection for the European Championships, he is optimistic he can raise his own bar.

"I am very confident I will jump 2.25m before the deadline and then it will be 50-50 whether they select me or not," he said. "I have got three competitions before then, possibly four. Going on form, I would say I am looking to finish third or fourth. Germaine is out in front and Martyn Bernard is around 2.25m but Germaine is not unbeatable."

Parsons was 11th in the Commonwealth Games this year. Having qualified fourth, the 22-year-old tumbled out with a below-par height of 2.10m following an ankle injury.

"I was devastated," he said. "I had cortisone injections and anti-inflammatories but it was touch and go whether I would compete. I had only two days to recover and it was really painful to jump. Before I went out there, my ambition was to get a medal; in the end, making the final was a bonus. At least it was a good experience."